


Red Lion: Jungle Fury

by 04ijordan



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 07:44:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17442779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/04ijordan/pseuds/04ijordan
Summary: After the death of his father, Matthew Bland returns home to the African nation of Buredunia to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, Matthew's mettle as king -- and as Red Lion -- gets tested when he's drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Buredunia and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Red Lion to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people.





	Red Lion: Jungle Fury

Centuries ago, as five African tribes war over a meteorite made up of the alien metal promethium, a warrior shaman ingests a "heart-shaped herb" affected by the metal and gains superhuman abilities. Becoming the first "Red Lion", he unites all tribes except the Zavimbe tribe, and forms the nation of Buredunia. As time passes, the Buredeunia use the promethium to develop highly-advanced technology while simultaneously isolating themselves from the rest of the world and posing as a third world country.  
In 1992, King Bland Sr. visits his adoptive brother Gorilla Grodd, who is working undercover in Central City, Missouri. Bland Sr. accuses Grodd of assisting black-market arms dealer Slade Wilson in stealing promethium from Buredunia. Grodd's partner reveals she is Jinx, another undercover Buredunian, and confirms Bland Sr.'s suspicions.

 

In the present day, following Bland Sr.'s death at the hands of Ra’s al Ghul, his son Matthew returns to Buredunia to assume the throne. After working with Kuasa, the former leader of the Zambesi Tribe, to extract his ex-lover Jamie Harper from an undercover assignment in Nigeria's Zambesi Tribe, he reunites with his mother, Queen Madison Bland, and current leader of Zambesi, Amaya Jiwe.  
Later at the ceremony to formally induct him as king, Matthew drinks a liquid that removes his enhanced strength and formally invites anyone to challenge his claim as king in ritual combat. The challenger to step forward is Luke Fox, the leader of the mountain-dwelling Zavimbe Tribe, who claims that Matthew is not worthy to be king. The two engage in ritual combat, and even without his strength manages to best him and spares his life. Matthew is crowned the new King, and drinks a fluid derived from the heart-shaped herb. As his body digests the herb Matthew goes into a deep sleep where he visits the Ancestral Plane and reunites with a vision of his father who advises him he is a good man but he has hard times ahead and should surround himself with people he trusts. With this Matthew wakes up from his dream.

 

At the same time, Steven Dayton and his associate steal a Vibranium artifact from the Museum of Great Britain. When Buredunia hears of Dayton's actions, Matthew's friend and Kuasa's lover Albert, who lost his parents as a result of the dealer's actions, urges the young monarch to bring him to justice. Matthew, Kuasa, and Albert plan to intercept Steven at an underground casino in Busan, where he will be selling a stolen artifact to an unknown buyer. The plan, however, goes wrong when Matthew discovers the buyer is CIA agent Amanda Waller. As a result, the African Sorority are forced to sabotage the operation, inciting a shootout.

When Steven attempts to escape, Matthew, Waller, Mari, Jamie and Kuasa intercept him in a car chase across the city. Steven ultimately crashes, and Matthew comes close to killing him. But after watching civilians filming him, he is force to decide against it and hands him into the custody of the CIA. The next day, while being interrogated, Steven is rescued by his client. Rather than pursue Steven, Matthew decides to take Waller, who has been severely injured while protecting Jamie, to Buredunia where Mari can use the nation's advanced technology to save him.  
While Mari heals Waller, Matthew confronts Jinx about Grodd. Jinx explains that Grodd and his apprentice Benjamin Turner Sr. planned to share Buredunia's technology with people of African Descent but King Grodd had secret plans to only share it with people of Gorilla descent around the world to help them conquer their oppressors. As Bland Sr. arrested Grodd, Grodd attacked Jinx, forcing Bland Sr. to kill him. Even though Ben can't believe Grodd turned on him, Ben Turner Sr. had not agreed with he act of murder so challenged him to battle right after but ultimately being killed to. Bland Sr. ordered Jinx to lie that Grodd and Ben had disappeared and left behind King Grodd's gorilla son, Grodd Jr., in order to maintain the lie. Grodd became a telekinetic ruler of underground gorilla city, adopting the name "Gorilla Grodd".  
while Ben had a son with a British Archeologist with the initial’s of B.M. on August, 1987 but the baby boy was shipped to 'Eth Alth'eban where he would grow up to be an assassin. 

Meanwhile, a New Guy Shows named Bronze Tiger kills Steven and takes his body to Buredunia, revealing his identity before the tribal elders and challenging Matthew for the throne in ritual combat. Deciding Bronze Tiger has a legitimate claim, the ritual combat begins with Matthew relinquishing his powers once again. After seemingly killing Jinx, he defeats Matthew and hurls him over a waterfall, where he is presumed dead. After ingesting the heart-shaped herb to gain the powers of the Red Lion, Bronze Tiger orders the rest incinerated, but Jamie manages to steal one. Bronze Tiger, supported by Albert and his army, enacts his father's plan, preparing shipments of Buredunia weapons to be distributed to Buredunia operatives around the world, that of which includes New York City, London and Hong Kong.

 

Jamie, Mari, Waller, and Matthew's mother Madison Bland flee to seek the aid of the Zavimbe and learn Luke's men are caring for the comatose Matthew, whom they had rescued in repayment for sparing Luke's life. They feed the heart-shaped herb brought by Jamie to Matthew who returns to the Ancestral Plane again and meets the spirit of his father who tells his son it's time to let go and join him and his ancestors. Matthew demands to know why Ben was left as an orphan in the US when he should have been brought home to his people. Matthew Sr. claims he did what he did for his people and Buredunia to allow them to remain in isolation, but Matthew angrily rejects this and states that they cannot hide from the rest of the world forever. He then tells his father's spirit he will not join them, but will return to stop the monster his people created from sitting on the throne. Matthew wakes up and immediately returns to Buredunia to stop Bronze Tiger's plan. Matthew returns to Mount Elgon to challenge Bronze Tiger for the throne, who is now wearing a Cat-like (Tiger) Mask of his own.

While Mari, Jamie, and Kuasa join the African Sorority and Zavimbe in battling Albert, Grodd and the Buredunian and Gorilla army, Waller, piloting a remote jet, shoots down the planes carrying the weapons before they can leave the country. Confronted by Kuasa, Albert and his army stand down. Bronze Tiger overpowers the African Sorority and comes close to murdering Mari, but Matthew Bland saves her, and tackles Bronze Tiger into a mine located underneath Mount Elgon that serves as the world's only known natural source of Promethium. Batwing and the Zavimbe arrive, and they defeat Albert and Grodd, forcing the Gorilla Tribe to surrender.

 

While Matthew and Bronze Tiger vie for supremacy, sonic disruptors used in the transport of the metal in the mine incapacitate their vibranium armors. Matthew uses this to his advantage, and overpowers Bronze, impaling him with a dagger. Matthew, victorious shows mercy to Bronze and fulfills his childhood wish to witness the sunset of Buredunia. Bronze accepts Matthew's offer to be healed and pulls the dagger out of his chest, choosing to live a free forgiven man rather than die. Matthew then helped Bronze Tiger up. then told him he could stay here in Buredunia as Mentor/Trainer to young Buredunians but Bronze Tiger had gladly refused the offer as he needed to go on a journey to find himself.

 

Rejecting the isolationism of past Buredunia kings, Matthew establishes an embassy in Oakland, California, purchasing the apartment complex where King Grodd was murdered. Matthew appoints Mari and Jamie to run the embassy. Soon after, Matthew appears before the United Nations in the rebuilt Wayne Enterprise alongside Bruce Wayne to reveal Buredunia's resources to the world, and to come out of isolation. Then Matthew Bland ships out some Promethium to man of the name Silas Stone. Bronze Tiger later says goodbye to Bland telling he’s gonna go start a martial arts school and work under Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad program for a while. Later, Jason Todd who was granted asylum by Matthew wake up in Wakanda, and is met by Mari, who begins to help him with his recuperation from his mental programming.


End file.
